Can Democracy Survive the “Defenders of Democracy”?

Below is my column in The Hill on the latest calls to protect democracy with distinctly undemocratic measures. Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton insisted that the 2024 election was our D-Day, suggesting that voters would have to fight the GOP like the Nazis in World War II.  Clinton previously called on Europe to censor American […]

Can Democracy Survive the “Defenders of Democracy”?

Where did the Government get the law right and wrong with the Covid-19 response?

For those who are interested in public law, a very interesting paper by Dean Knight summarising the various court cases over the Covid-19 response. It details in which areas the Government won judicial reviews, and in which areas they lost. The TLDR version is: Hopefully we will not go through another pandemic anytime soon.

Where did the Government get the law right and wrong with the Covid-19 response?

On electing gangsters

In India it’s common for politicians to have criminal cases against them. Why do voters vote for criminals? One compelling explanation provided by political scientist Milan Vaishnav is that voters often care less about their represntative’s ability to deliver broad-based development or draft good laws, and more about the effectiveness at helping them access limited […]

Haan, goonda hai, magar hamara goonda hai

Will Hunter Take the Stand? He May Want to Think Twice Before Checking That Box

This weekend, the Hunter Biden team is reportedly debating whether to have him take the stand on Monday, a move rife with risk. Most criminal defendants avoid such appearances given the potential damage of a withering cross examination. Those risks were evident in the recent testimony of Hunter’s daughter, Naomi, which backfired badly on key […]

Will Hunter Take the Stand? He May Want to Think Twice Before Checking That Box

More impatient people are more likely to commit crime

Gary Becker’s famous model of rational crime suggests that criminals weigh up the costs and benefits of crime (and engage in a criminal act if the benefits outweigh the costs). Time preferences matter in this model, because the benefits of a criminal act are usually realised immediately, whereas the greatest costs (including the penalties of…

More impatient people are more likely to commit crime

Laptop Deniers in Delaware: The Media Shrugs as the Biden Laptop is Authenticated in Federal Court

Below is my column in Fox.com on the authentication of Hunter Biden laptop in the Delaware trial. The government has denounced the Russian disinformation claims as a “conspiracy theory” and put on evidence that there is no evidence of tampering with the laptop. The FBI declared the laptop to be “real” and “authentic” and the […]

Laptop Deniers in Delaware: The Media Shrugs as the Biden Laptop is Authenticated in Federal Court

Divisive rhetoric chips away at communities

The following letter to the Gisborne Herald appears under the title above and the name of Eddie Tuhaka: Rawiri Waititi’s divisive comments and behaviour against the present Government, calling them a white/Pākehā Government, is racist and unacceptable. He and the rest of them did not complain when they all got their pay increase from the…

Divisive rhetoric chips away at communities

Just Ask Mookie: Hunter Biden Has No Defense Other Than Nullification

Below is my column in the New York Post on the first day of testimony in the trial of Hunter Biden. Every claim of the defense seemed to collapse in the first two days of the trial. The defense argued that Hunter did not check the box on the gun form, so the prosecutors called […]

Just Ask Mookie: Hunter Biden Has No Defense Other Than Nullification

Another weak free speech university policy

Auckland University has a draft free speech policy. There are some good parts to it, but also parts that will allow significant censorship. We take our role of critic and conscience seriously and welcome and encourage dialogue and debate including on topics which may be contentious and controversial. It is inevitable that different perspectives will […]

Another weak free speech university policy

Caught out! The NZ Initiative’s Article in the Herald Blaming the RBNZ for our Rip-Off Big Banks is Contradicted by its Own Expert Witness. (Willis Beware).

When it comes to the question of how best to avoid a banking collapse and multi-billion dollar bailout that can drag a whole nation into depression, the best solution, according to Chicago-Stanford economist, John Cochrane, is to require banks to set aside a fraction of their own funds as reserves to cover losses they may…

Caught out! The NZ Initiative’s Article in the Herald Blaming the RBNZ for our Rip-Off Big Banks is Contradicted by its Own Expert Witness. (Willis Beware).

Is Hunter Biden Pursuing a Jury Nullification Strategy?

Below is my column in The Hill on the start of the Hunter Biden trial and the elements of a classic jury nullification strategy by the defense. It is not clear that it will work in an otherwise open-and-shut case, but it might. What is clear is that it may be all that Biden has […]

Is Hunter Biden Pursuing a Jury Nullification Strategy?

Nicholas Kilford: Interpreting The Devolution Statutes

*Editors’ Note: This post is part of the ‘Unwritten Constitutional Norms and Principles Blog Series’* Throughout the life of devolution, the courts appear to have diverged on how to properly determine the scope and limits of devolved lawmaking power, and the extent to which norms and principles not expressly contained in the text of the […]

Nicholas Kilford: Interpreting The Devolution Statutes

Stephen Tierney: The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024: Necessary remedy or unwarranted interference with judicial independence?

For the first time, by way of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act (“the Act”), Parliament has legislated to quash criminal convictions. In this post I will argue that, no matter how understandable, indeed laudable, the intention behind this legislation, in its haste to offer a speedy and comprehensive correction to mass injustice, Parliament has crossed […]

Stephen Tierney: The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024: Necessary remedy or unwarranted interference with judicial independence?

Pushback on Pessimism About Randomized Controlled Trials

Back in January, I posted about an article that was getting some attention in my world. Megan T. Stevenson is an active researcher in the criminal-justice-and-economics literature. She argues that when you look at the published studies that use randomized control trial methods to evaluate ways of reducing crime, most of the studies don’t show a…

Pushback on Pessimism About Randomized Controlled Trials

New Rule: Gender Apartheid | Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO)

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